Colliton: Medical record-keeping can save your life

Among possible New Year’s resolutions, one that is likely to come with a snooze factor is to keep personal medical records that you or someone else in an emergency can reference quickly to prevent potential deadly mistakes.

If you think about it, however, if you or someone you care for were suddenly to be whisked to the hospital with a stroke, heart attack or accidental injury, this knowledge can save your life. Considered in that light, medical record-keeping takes on an entirely new dimension.

One medication can impact another. Medications taken in conjunction with alcohol or even certain vitamins or herbal supplements can be deadly. Blood-thinners, for instance, could result in severe unexplained bleeding. Injuries that, for the average person might result in moderate bruising could for someone on certain medications have catastrophic consequences.

If personal medical information is available immediately, then Emergency Medical Technicians and hospital emergency rooms will be guided in their decision making. If not, then sometimes family members and friends are confronted with questions they are unable to answer and, worse, incorrect decisions can be made regarding care.

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Questions that could be asked include what medications the patient is taking, what chronic conditions he or she experiences, when was the last time he or she was hospitalized, and for what symptoms.

Other likely questions: Are there any allergies? Does he have a pacemaker? Is she diabetic or hypertensive? Who are her treating physicians?

In addition to the medical questions, health insurance cards may need to be located and medical coverages determined.

Under the new Health Care Reform legislation, funds are set aside for medical providers to develop systems in which this kind of information can be organized and shared among medical providers when needed. However, we are nowhere near having organized medical records that are shared among all providers. If you have any question in this regard think back to the last time you visited a doctor’s office as a new patient and the clipboard you completed. Each time you visit a new doctor, specialist or health care provider, you complete a new clipboard of information.

In the meantime, some private concerns have been trying to develop software and on-line programs with varying degrees of success. About a year ago, Forbes magazine in an article by David Whelan titled “Tracking Vital Signs” described an experience when the author’s son was admitted to two hospitals, first for an infection and then for shortness of breath.

Even payments by insurance, the family faced 28 separate claims from hospitals, private physicians, testing labs, imaging centers and pharmacies. It was also difficult for him to obtain medical records and have them forwarded to his son’s pediatrician.

Whelan stated at that time, “Wouldn’t it be nice if all my son’s bills and medical records could be zapped to websites that I control?”

It would seem that we have a long way to go to accomplish his wishes and maybe even longer than we did a year ago.

“Google Health,” a program for individuals to keep track of their medical records, was recently discontinued. Other programs, including one from Microsoft, never took off. While there may be other sources, none seem to have come to the fore.

Recognizing the limitations of on-line programs now (and there may be many more I simply have not yet learned of), the simplest immediate solution may be much less technical.

A simple medical history would include surgeries, medications and allergies, family history, habits such as tobacco use, alcohol intake, and exercise, medical encounters, history of any present illness, results of physical examinations, orders and prescriptions and test results. Listing medications, allergies, major medical conditions and therapies and hospitalizations would probably be a good place to start. Any information that would help others to know you and how to treat you in an emergency can provide much needed peace of mind.

An Excel spreadsheet or Microsoft Word Document that is regularly updated may work. A copybook and a pen or number 2 pencil could be handy for the less technologically savvy. Begin today and then add as you remember information. Your health and the health of your family may depend on it.

For more, listen on Wednesdays at 4:30p.m. to radio WCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead,” with Janet Colliton, Colliton Law Associates, and Phil McFadden, Home Instead Senior Care. Live streaming is available at that time on www.wche1520.com.

Janet Colliton, Esq. limits her practice, Colliton Law Associates PC, to elder law, special needs, and estate planning and administration with offices at 790 E. Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 610-436-6674, colliton@collitonlaw.com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services, LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.